What is a secured loan?
A secured loan is a loan in which the borrower pledges some asset (e.g. a car or property) as collateral for the loan, which then becomes a secured debt owed to the creditor who gives the loan. The debt is thus secured against the collateral — in the event that the borrower defaults, the creditor takes possession of the asset used as collateral and may sell it to satisfy the debt by regaining the amount originally lent to the borrower, for example, foreclosure of a home. From the creditor’s perspective this is a category of debt in which a lender has been granted a portion of the bundle of rights to specified property. The opposite of secured debt/loan is unsecured debt, which is not connected to any specific piece of property and instead the creditor may satisfy the debt against the borrower rather than just the borrower’s collateral.
Purpose?
There are two purposes for a loan secured by debt. In the first purpose, by extending the loan through securing the debt, the creditor is relieved of most of the financial risks involved because it allows the creditor to take the property in the event that the debt is not properly repaid. In exchange, this permits the second purpose where the debtors may receive loans on more favorable terms than that available for unsecured debt, or to be extended credit under circumstances when credit under terms of unsecured debt would not be extended at all. The creditor may offer a loan with attractive interest rates and repayment periods for the secured debt.
What Kind Of Loans Are There?
* A mortgage loan is a secured loan in which the collateral is property, such as a home.
* A nonrecourse loan is a secured loan where the collateral is the only security or claim the creditor has against the borrower, and the creditor has no further recourse against the borrower for any deficiency remaining after foreclosure against the property.
* A foreclosure is a legal process in which mortgaged property is sold to pay the debt of the defaulting borrower.
* A repossession is a process in which property, such as a car, is taken back by the creditor when the borrower does not make payments due on the property. Depending on the jurisdiction, it may or may not require a court order.
What are the benefits?
* Lower cost when compared to unsecured loans
* Longer repayment terms
* Usually offers very attractive interest rates
* Offer larger amounts of funds
What are the cons?
* The risk of losing your personal property or assets
* In this economy, secured loans are more complicated to obtain
* The funding process tends to be much longer (depends on the loan type)
* Requires large quantities of paperwork
Hope this makes it somewhat clear about what secured loans are and how you can benefit from them.
Sites used as a source of this article are:
http://www.securedloanshelp.net/2009/03/what-is-a-secured-loan/